Iraq Reports 10 Million Barrel Oil Export via Strait of Hormuz in April

Iraq's new Oil Minister, Bassim Mohammed, stated at a press conference on Saturday that the country exported 10 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz in April. Prior to the outbreak of the Iran conflict, the average monthly export volume was approximately 93 million barrels.

The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, influenced by the Iran conflict, has restricted oil exports from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Iraq, leading to a significant increase in oil prices.

"Exports via the Strait of Hormuz are low and dependent on the arrival of tankers, but due to insurance issues, tankers are unable to enter the strait," Mohammed said during his first press conference since taking office.

Iraq's current daily production stands at 1.4 million barrels.

Following an agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government to resume oil shipments, crude oil exports via the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline resumed in March.

"We export 200,000 barrels of crude oil through the port of Ceyhan in Turkey and plan to increase it to 500,000 barrels," Mohammed added.

Efforts to Boost Production and Exports

Mohammed mentioned that Baghdad is also negotiating with Turkey on a new cooperation agreement covering upstream and downstream projects, which expands upon the previous agreement limited to crude oil exports.

Iraq is in talks with U.S. companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Halliburton, regarding the development of oil and gas projects. Mohammed urged these companies to sign contracts as soon as possible to help Iraq generate substantial revenue.

The minister stated that Iraq plans to cooperate with OPEC to enhance the country's oil production and export capacity, adding that Baghdad aims to increase daily production to 5 million barrels through this dialogue.

"We are in dialogue with OPEC to enhance Iraq's export capacity. When exports increase and OPEC eases production limits, we will bring significant financial revenue to Iraq," he added.

In April of this year, following the UAE's decision to withdraw from the organization, two Iraqi oil officials told Reuters that Iraq has no intention of leaving OPEC or "OPEC+" and supports a strong organization to ensure stable and reasonable oil prices.